Alex Rider Meet Artemis Fowl, Your New Psychiatris
by HeartbrokenMisadventure
Summary: Alex thought he was done with his life of the strange and abnormal. But when the vilians of his past began attacking him in his dreams, he has no choice but to enter another, one filled with more abnormality than he might be able to take. *COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

Alex Rider sat at his desk, his pencil tapping an irregular beat agaisnt the edge of the cracked wood. He sighed, looking up from his noticibly blank paper in into the gray sky morning. The smell of chinese wafted from the kitchen and he inhaled deeply, his stomach rumbling.

"Alex!" Alex's American house-keeper and gaurdian, Jack Starbright, called up. "Dinner's ready!"

"Okay." He called back, laying the flats of his palms on his desk and pushing himself up. "I'm coming."

Jack glanced up from the plate she was making as Alex walked in. Her hair was pulled back by a hair tie, but a few strands had fallen loose, framing her face. She smiled. "How's the essay going?" She asked, a teasing note in her voice. He scowled at her and she laughed.

A week ago, just before spring break, Alex's English teacher, Mr. Varned, had assigned the class _My Life By Me_ by Penelope Treeborn. They were to read the book and write a 5,000 word essay, rationalizing war. After they rationlized it, they were to explain- in _detail _( no less than 300 words_)_- why those rationalizations were merely excuses, and state their (400 word) opinions on whether those excuses were good enough. Although Alex had read the book at the begining of break, he hadn't started the essay. He'd spent his entire break getting back into the swing of things, and re-connecting with friends that had drawn away from him.

"I think I'm going to end up spending all night on this." He griped as he sat down. "To be honest, I really can't remember anything about the book."

"Well," Jack said, still teasing him, "Maybe if you actually spent some time on it over the week, rather than spending it laying about and causing mayhem." He knew she was teasing. She was more exstatic than he was that he was becoming more himself after everything with MI6.

He grunted as he scooped a spoonful of rice into his mouth, slightly wishing that he hadn't spent _quite_ so much time with his friends. They ate the rest of the meal in companiable silence.

"Oh, before I forget," Jack said suddenly as Alex went to rinse his plate off. "Minerva called. Apparently, she's coming in for a few days. She said she'd like to see you, if your not too busy."

Alex blushed and rushed to his room. Minerva Parridizo was a french girl about an year younger than Alex. She'd come to Britian when her father had been meeting a client at a local resturant. She'd wandered away, feeling bored with the whole affair and had, quite literally bumped into Alex. They'd both appologized and instantly clicked. They'd kept in touch quite regularly ever since.

Alex pushed in the door to his room, suddenly to wired to sit and work on a paper. Mixed thoughts of Minnerva rushed through his head. On the one hand, he felt closer to her than almost anyone, save Sabina and Jack. But on the other, there were things about him he couldn't, wouldn't tell her. He sighed and sat down on his desk. Minnerva coming or not, Jack woulnd't let him out of the house unless his school work was all caught up. He picked up his pencil and began to write.

_He walked down a familiar corridor, bare feet creaking as he creeped past shadowy gaurds and closed doors. He paused and he heard a rustling behind him. He turned and came face-to-face with Damian Cray. Alex gasped audiably. Make no mistake, the man before him was indead Damian Cray. But, make no mistake, the man before him was what Damian Cray would look like NOW. Dead, flesh torn into ribbons from the propellers of the jet and decomposing flesh falling in clumps unto the floor at his feet. Part of his lower jaw was missing and his entire arm was gone, leaving a bloody stub of bone protruding from the socket. He grinned, reveilling rotting teeth._

_"Hello, Alex." He still had that soft voice. The voice that held an undercurrent of insantiy. This was, indeed, Damian Cray._

_Alex stumbled back, shaken. "No," he murmured. "You're dead. This is a dream. It has to be."_

_Cray tossed back his head, which made a wet snapping sound as the bones snapped. He laughed. "Oh, Alex. You are right and you are wrong. I am indeed dead. You saw to that yourself. And this is a dream, for now. However, it doesn't have to be." He grinned again and Alex fought back the urge to vomit. "You shall see me soon Alex Rider. And I can promise you, I won't be alone."_


	2. Chapter 2

**forwarning:**

**this chapter and the next few contain spoliers for a.f's time paradox & a.r's snakehead.**

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**2 weeks later**

Alex awoke suddenly, gasping. He swallowed thickly and repressed a shudder. It's just a dream, he told himself, it's just a a dream that you've been having every night for the past two weeks, each time more vivid than the last . . . But try as he might, he couldn't rid himself of the image of Cray. He vividly remembered those last few moments on the plane, from the time Yessan was shot to waking up surrounded by people. He shuddered again and shook his head violently, as if doing so could erase those memories. He swung his legs over the bed suddenly and padded softly down stairs. He needed water.

Jack wasn't in the kitchen, which surprised Alex somewhat- normally she was the first one up- until he looked at the clock above the stove. 4:30. He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon.

"Alex."

Alex whirled around, dropping the glass he was holding. It shattered into a thousand pieces, but none seemed to touch the man standing behind him. "No." he whispered, horrified. The only time he saw anyone in association to his life with MI6 was when he was dreaming. But he was awake now. Wasn't he?

Yessan took a step forward. "Alex." He said again, more genitally this time. He didn't look as Alex remembered him. His hair was longer, and a shade lighter. His eyes weren't as hooded. He looked slimmer, younger somehow. "Alex, listen to me." There was an urgency to his tone that Alex had never heard before. "You are not safe Alex. Something . . . Somehow something went wrong. Someone managed . . . " His voice faded and his form seemed to flicker. "You are not safe." He said again. "Go to MI6. They can fix this. They've been waiting for this. Or what they think this is." Alex head swam. What was going on? "Listen to me Alex, this is very important. Do not go back into the field! Do you understand? No matter what they say, you cannot go back to work for them." He looked Alex straight in the eyes and Alex saw something there that he never thought he would. Fear. Yessan was afraid.

"I . . . I don't-"

Yessan shook his head an took a step back. "You'll understand quickly Alex. That's what makes you unique. Just get to MI6 as soon as possible." He looked at him again and flickered away.

Alex stood stunned. Then, very slowly reached over and snatched the cordless of the cradle. He dialed the number that had been given to him after returning from Australia without even looking at the keys, his eyes still trained on the spot where Yessan stood.

RINGRING RRRRIIINGG

He heard the telltale click of the receiver being picked up, but he knew no one would say anything. "Hello? Mrs.. Jones?"

0o0

**Dublin, Ireland later that day**

Artemis glared at his computer screen. For the past month-and-a-half it had taken to freezing. Butler suggested that maybe they were just over-loaded, but Artemis waved the theory away.

"I designed these systems, Butler," he'd said with a hint of his old superiority. "There is no way they are 'over-loaded'."

But something was making them freeze. And now was a very bad time to do so. Artemis sighed and glanced at his calculations again.

Impossible, he thought.

"Arty!" His mother called up the stairs. "Lunch!" Artemis rubbed his eyes in frustration. Ever since his mother's "miraculous" recovery from "Glovers Fever" Angeline Fowl had demanded that her family spend more time together. They now had outings and ate meals together. Normally Artemis wouldn't complain, but today he needed to figure out what he'd missed.

"Artemis!" She called again. Artemis sighed again. His mother wouldn't have let him weasel out of lunch, even if she hadn't known that he'd lied to her about wiping the entire family's mind thirteen months previously. He grunted and heaved himself out of his chair.

Angeline Fowl stood at the bottom of the stairs, glaring up at her son as he descended.

"What," she demanded of him when he finally reached her," were you doing that you couldn't hear me?"

Artemis shook his head. "Nothing, mother."

However, Angeline knew her son and knew when he was lying. He was lying to her now. "You and I will have a talk after lunch, young man." Artemis nodded glumly. The last talk with his mother hadn't gone so well. He wasn't looking forward to this one.

Only Butler seemed to notice Artemis' mood. But, as Beckett and Myles had decided to throw the delicately cut cucumber sandwiches at his head, he had no time to acknowleged his you prodigy.

After lunch Angeline led her oldest son into the chaise lounge. She padded the seat next her and and put her arms around him when he sat down. "Now, Arty." She said, her voice nonchalant, "What have you been up to?"

Artemis took a deep breath. "About a month ago, my computer picked up a lot of nuclear disturbances around Italy. I ran several checks and after about a week determined them to be magical." He blew out slowly. "I checked all my old calculations, trying to figure out the cause . . ."

He paused. His mother stared into his eyes for a long time, then prompted him to continue. "The only logical solution I can find is the demons. Unless another human managed to find a way to steal the fairies powers. Very doubtful, but unfortunately still an option. And I'm sure I would have heard, had that been the case."

"I don't understand." His mother said, shaking her head. "If it's the demons, why don't the faries deal with it?"

Artemis shrugged. "As far as I can tell, the magic's not coming from a hot spot. I think . . . I think someone raised an warlock, or at the very least a demon we missed transformed into one." He paused again.

"And that's bad?"

"Very." Artemis said somberly. "It could that someone is trying to take over the world. If not, than we have a very powerful, untrained deamon warlock running around on the surface. It can only end in disaster."

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**thanks for all the reviews guys!! keep 'um coming.**

**hopefully chapter 3 will come soon and i can keep updating regularly.**


	3. Chapter 3

**sorry readers for me needing to fix this chapter so many times. i got a new word program so it kinda messed things up. but its all fixed and the settings are changed so, it SHOULD be fine now. =]**

**_______**

**Royal and General Bank**

Mrs. Jones sat in a gray leather chair, next to a gray plastic desk, beside a gray, unimpressed man. She studied Alex with small, black eyes. She didn't seem surprised to see him, or surprised by what he had finally confessed to her. Alex shivered. Not only had he _sworn_ that he would have nothing more to do with these people, but her expression brought back the vivid . . . illusion he had had concerning Yassan.

"Well." The gray man spoke finally. Even his voice seemed gray, devoid of color and life. "To be honest Alex, we were sort of expecting this." Alex felt his eye brows raise slightly. In the entire time he had known him, Alan Blunt had never been really honest with him. "After everything you've been through it's understandable that your mind would be . . ." He trailed off and looked aver at Mrs. Jones. Her face remained blank. "Incidentally, Alex, we have a psychiatrist lined up for you." Alex felt his heart beat quicken. Hadn't Yassan warned him about this? "He lives in a manor house in Dublin Ireland. His family is extremely wealthy and has agreed to let you stay until you're better. His name is Artemis Fowl and he is unique. He's your age-15. He's a genius, and I'm not just saying that. His I.Q. is the highest tested in Europe, although there is a young lady in France . . ."

"The point is, Alex, that he is more than willing to help." Mrs. Jones said.

"Oh, yeah? And why is that?"

She paused slightly and Alex felt dread roll in his stomach. "We're paying him, of course. And we're presenting him with what he considers a challenge. He's never worked with anyone quite like you."

"And," Blunt cut in, "We're investigating him. His family is one of the best known criminals empires underground. There's been a lot of rumors that the youngest Fowl, your psychiatrist, has followed in the family footsteps. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any recent activity and we can't send in a team without any proof. That's were you come in."

_Do not go back into the field! Do you understand? No matter what they say, you cannot go back to work for them._

Alex swallowed thickly. Very slowly, he shook his head, cutting off Blunt. "No." He said. "I can't . . . Not now."

"You don't really have to do anything, Alex." Mrs. Jones said quietly. "Just find out whatever you're able to. If you can't find anything, that's fine. We don't want anything to disturb your recovery." She hesitated, seeing the look on his face. "Look, Alex. Honestly, if you can't find anything, or you don't get the opportunity, we completely understand. We can send someone else in. All we're asking is that you try. Can you do that?"

Alex hesitated. He knew he didn't have much of a choice. Like always, they would find a way to manipulate him into getting what they wanted. He sighed. "When do I go?"

Mrs. Jones handed him a passport. "Tonight. Your bags are already packed and on there way to the airport as we speak. Our driver will take you and their butler will pick you up at take you to the manor."

"You don't have any gadgets this time. In four weeks we'll check up on you. If you have any information, you can give it to us then." And with that, Alan Blunt dismissed Alex.

***

**Fowl Manor**

A giant Eurasian man stood in front of a pale boy. For the first time in many years Domovi Butler was at a loss for words. It didn't happen often, his principal, Artemis, was, for the most part, predictable. He did almost everything for money. That was it. But recently Artemis had begun to change. And for the better. But this . . . This was shocking.

"You're what?" Butler asked for the eighteenth time, wondering if there was something he was missing.

Artemis stared back at his body guard and oldest friend with cool blue and hazel eyes. "I am helping a teenage spy. He needs a very good psychiatrist, I am told, and MI6 personally called me and asked to help. Apparently he's their top spy but he's suffering from a type of Post-Traumatic-Stress." The boy shrugged. "It seemed like a challenge. The world hasn't needed saving in quite a while and I'm beginning to get bored. Besides, " He smirked slightly. 'Aren't you the one telling me I ought to socialize more?" There was no need, Artemis felt, to tell Butler about that fact that MI6 was investigating him and this Alex Rider was probably going to be "working" while he was here. The less people that knew, the better. Especially if something went wrong.

Butler shook his head, amazed. But he knew better than to ask to many questions. Artemis would let him know the full details when he felt the time was right. He always did. "So when is this Alex boy supposed to get here?"

"Tonight."

**---------------------------**

**sorry all about the underline issue last time. idk what happened. anyway, ill check from now on to make sure id dont happen again. & i forgot about his eyes being two different colors. thanks ****shinigamireaper for reminding me!**

**oh, & about yassan's name being misspelled in the previous chap, my com automatically corrected all misspelled words & i guess his was misspelled. lol. but i changed the settings now, so, it shouldn't happen again.**

**=]**


	4. Chapter 4

**Dublin airport, Ireland**

Alex rider stepped off the plane and wandered down the terminal. It occurred to him, then, that he had no clue who was to be picking him up. MI6 hadn't shown him any pictures of his new therapist or his body guard. Alex was to wing this one.

The airport was crowded. The press of thick bodies made Alex feel like he was chocking and did nothing to ease his anxiety. Any one of the many strangers walking around could be the person he was looking for. It was then that he spotted an extremely large Eurasian man standing slightly off to the side, his back to the wall. The people milling around gave him a large berth. He seemed to be watching Alex. Alex swallowed thickly. He'd met his fair share of large villainous men. He had no desire to meet anymore.

The man stepped forward with a crisp gait. He stopped a few feet from Alex and extended a hand. "You must be Alex Rider. I'm Butler. Master Artemis sent me to collect you." Alex eyed the hand warily. Then, he slowly extended his own. The man had a surprisingly soft grip from someone of his size. "I've already collected your bags. They're in the Bentley." He gestured toward the door. "Shall we?" Alex nodded mutely.

_This is going to be a long few weeks._

The drive to the manor was a blur. Alex barely noted the trees surrounding the avenue, or the rocky drive. He didn't notice the security cameras or the large iron gate. He did, however, notice the girl standing by the garage.

She was short; about three feet tall. She was dressed in a metallic suit of some sort. It caught the colors of the background. Her face was hidden by a helmet. This also reflected the colors. He glanced at Butler. The man either hadn't paid any attention to the little girl, or he hadn't even noticed her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are away. Master Artemis' younger twin brothers, Beckett and Myles, graduated preschool today and they took them to the zoo. Artemis stayed behind due to your arrival."

Alex glanced at Butler. The man was easily in his 50's. And yet he was referring to Artemis, someone Alex's own age as _master._ He was going to ask, but the girl standing by the garage moved. Well, _hovered._ Alex hadn't realized that her suit had wings, but now, great, metallic wings were holding her small body 15 feet above the ground. He saw her reach into a hidden pocket and pull out what looked like a small magnifying glass. She pointed it at him for a minute, then nodded in Butler's direction.

Butler gently knocked on the wooden door and set Alex's bags down. The door swung open a few beats later. Alex's tried very hard to make no facial expression at all.

Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt had seemed convinced that Artemis Fowl II was a criminal. That he had followed in his father's footsteps and was stealing and forging in broad daylight. They had warned him that Artemis was his own age and was a genius. Alex's mental picture of the boy standing in front of him was of a large, average looking teenager. He expected him to wear jeans and a band shirt. He expected your average, everyday, rich brat. That, however, was _not_ what Artemis was at all.

Artemis was pale. Pale enough to stand out. There was no way he could pull of a heist in broad daylight. He was a little shorter than Alex, and thin to almost the extreme. He was wearing a dark blue suit and black penny loafers. He had wide set, large blue eyes and sharp, angular features. His raven colored hair was cut short sort and his long, thin fingers were gripping the door handle so tightly that Alex, frankly, was surprised that he could even open the large, door, much less still be able to hold it afterward.

The boy smiled and Alex expected vampire fangs to sprout from his gums. "Hello." His voice was clipped, with a soft undercurrent of an Irish accent. "You must be Alex Rider." He extended pale, thin hand. "I'm Artemis Fowl, your new psychiatrist."

Alex had met his fair share of rich aristocrats. Hell, he'd _been _his fair share of rich aristocrats. But the Fowls were like nothing he'd ever seen before. Their manor was beautifully decorated with high ceilings and tasteful carpets and draperies. They had a full time butler, and , from what Alex gathered, Butler's sister was also on the payroll, but part-time. They had several, large, master bedrooms and bathrooms. They had fancy cars and a large, beautiful garden in the back, accompanied by a large stable with five Arabian horses. Alex was having a hard time thinking of a reason as to why the Fowl's would be criminals. They had everything.

Alex glanced around at the table of faces. Beckett and Myles were enjoying stuffing mashed potatoes into a stuffed monkeys mouth. Mr. and Mrs. Fowl were holding hands and were engaging in polite conversation with Alex. Butler was standing to the side, ready and waiting should someone ask for something not on the table. No one seemed wholly concerned with the fact that Artemis, fifteen minutes into the meal, still had not come out of his room.

Mrs. Fowl must have caught Alex glancing at the stairs for she said, "Artemis and Holly are very close and they haven't seen each other in quite a while. It's not unusual for him to miss a meal to see her." Alex glanced at her. She was pretty, in a way. But, by the look in her eyes, she knew more that she was saying. He nodded slowly.

By the time everyone had finished all three courses and were almost done with desert, Artemis joined them. He was followed by an extremely small women. She easily could have been in her twenties, but she was barely Artemis' height. Her form looked familiar, and Alex was sharply reminded of the girl outside the garage when he'd arrived.

"Holly Gustavo, this is Alex Rider, the boy I was telling you about. Alex, this is my friend Holly. She'll be staying here for a while." Holly smiled pleasantly. Alex inwardly sighed. This would only complicate things.

"It's good to see you, Holly." Mrs. Fowl said, with a hint of a smirk. Holly smile turned impish and she extended a hand toward her.

"Hello, Mrs. Fowl. It's good to see you up and about."

"Will you two be joining us, finally?"

Artemis shook his head. "No, I'm not very hungry, actually. I only came down to tell Alex that I'd like to start our sessions tonight." He turned slightly toward Alex, ignoring the surprised looks from his family. "Is that fine with you?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead continuing on, " Good. I'll be in my study." And with that, he turned on his heel and he and Holly trotted back upstairs. Alex glanced over at the Fowls; they seemed only mildly surprised at their son's behavior. He was beginning to have his doubts about how perfect they all seemed.

He slunk away after dinner, feeling more self-conscious then he ever had. He barely remembered how to get to the study from the winding staircase, which only added to his embarrassment. He paused outside the door, wondering if MI6 had told him everything. Did Artemis know he was a spy? He had to have. He took a deep breath and knocked gently.

"Come in."

He opened the door to reveal what looked like a miniature conference room. Artemis sat in a large, leather-backed chair, his hands folded on his lap. Holly was hovering a few inches off the ground at his shoulder. She had on the same metallic suit that the girl outside the garage had . . . It clicked then. Holly was the girl outside the garage. But why had she changed? And what was with the suit?

Artemis must have noticed Alex's gaze. He smirked slightly and met Alex's eyes. "Ah." He said, with just a hint of smugness. "I thought so. When I looked at the video earlier it had looked like you spotted Holly when you arrived."

Alex frowned. None of this was making any sense. What had MI6 gotten him into now?

"Why wouldn't I spot her?" He asked in confusion. "She was standing right out in the open. Anyone could see her."

Holly's eyes widened. "Oh my god . . ." She murmured, shocked.

Artemis glanced behind him. "I told you." He said. "You'd think. old friend, that you wouldn't doubt me." She scowled at him. He turned back to Alex. "The problem is, Alex, that she _wasn't_ out in the open, at least, not the way you mean." He hesitated and glanced quickly back at Holly. "She was shielded."

Alex's face remained blank. Those words meant nothing to him.

Artemis frowned. "Look, Alex, Holly is a fairy. She has certain . . . Powers. One of them is shielding; it means that she vibrates at extremely high speeds, invisible to the human -or any other creature for that matter- eye." He sighed, seeing Alex's face. "Sit down, Mr. Rider. It seems we have much to discuss.


	5. Chapter 5

**k, I've been getting a lot of questions regarding this story, so I thought I'd answer some of them:**

**No, I did not run out of room for the title.**

**Both books, (**A.F **and **A.R**) are set after the last books that have come out; The Time Paradox and Snakehead.**

**As for why Artemis has the same colored eyes, yes. He was wearing contacts. If you remember, at the end of TTP, his mother and Butler were the only ones in his family to know the truth about his disappearance. (At least the way I saw it. It never said he told his dad.)**

**And why Alex can see fairies . . . Well, you'll have to wait for that one ;]**

**I try NOT to set target dates, per-say. I find when I set dates, my writing seems forced. But I TRY to write at least a paragraph a day, but the muse doesn't always hit. But I WILL update regularly. (Meaning more than once a month. Can't promise once a week.)**

**I know some of you haven't read **Artemis Fowl **and some of you may not have read all the **Alex Rider**s, so I'd like to fill in those gaps, but, since most of my readers seem to have read all of both, I'm going to have a lot of difficulty. I don't want those readers to get bored or seem that this is all repetitive.**

**Thanks everyone for your wonderful reviews and helpful reminders and tips. Keep 'em coming! Now, on too the story:**

Alex sat on the edge of his bed in a daze. The red numbers on his fancy alarm clock red 7:00 A.M. He frowned. The conversation with Artemis and Holly had taken longer than he'd thought, but at the time it hadn't seemed long at all.

He shook his head, still not believing any of what Artemis had told him, but at the same time, he knew that the other boy had been honest. To a point. It had seemed to Alex that he had left something out. Something crucial. Alex had hoped that he'd be able to dig it out of him at they're first _official_ session later that day.

Holly was supposed to sit in on this one again, to help the boy prodigy try and figure out why Alex could see her, when he wasn't supposed to be able to.

"It's a mystery." Artemis had told him. "No human, ever, has been able to see a shielded fairy. Oh, sure, you can use the telltale signs to see if ones around. But no ones ever been able to actually _see _one. Ever."

Alex nodded, as if this all made perfect sense. "How exactly did you get tangled up in all this." He gestured at Holly, then winced, feeling rude. " I mean, I don't think you could hire fairies as personnel. "

Artemis seemed to tense. "I found Holly a few years ago." He said in a strained tone. Alex knew instantly that Artemis wasn't telling the whole truth. "We became . . . acquainted. Soon after I helped the fairy people and Holly and I became good friends. We've saved the world from it's unknown destruction a few times now."

Again Alex nodded. "And, what, she's here because you think I'm going to take over the world?" Alex felt utterly ridiculous. Yet again, MI6 had dumped him into the worst kind of mess and left him to fend for himself.

Artemis coughed and shifted. "Ah. Well, not exactly. Holly really _was_ visiting when MI6 called me with this proposition. She stayed because, for one, we weren't sure if you were a threat to my family. The fairies are a technologically advanced race. That being said, she has certain implements to tell if you were coming with some sort of weapon, or if you knew about the fairy race before you came here." He paused and straightened. " Our good friend Foaly, whose a centaur, also informed us that MI6 had sent you here to _spy_ on me." He met Alex's eyes. "I presume that's true?"

Alex felt his heart sink. How had he known? His head spun. If he knew . . . then the only way he _could_ have found out was if what he was saying was true. MI6 hadn't told anyone about this mission because of the people involved. But it would have had to be entered into a computer. And not even Artemis, boy genius, could have figured out how to hack the British intelligence network.

Alex slowly nodded. "Yes. But I declined."

Artemis' eyebrows rose infinitesimally. "You declined?"

Alex nodded again. "I couldn't with . . . everything that's been happening. I'm not in the right state of mind and having impaired judgment in my line of work can be deadly."

"The mission is listed as _in process _in the database." Holly said to Artemis.

Alex nodded. "It would be. They were hoping that I could find _something_ and if I couldn't, they'd send someone else. It was just convenient to send me since I was coming here anyway." He peered at Artemis. "You don't seem very upset about all this"

Artemis smiled his best vampire smile. "Not really. Federal agencies have always tried to find any illegal ventures my family have been involved in. They haven't found so far, and they certainly aren't going to now." He straightened his tie again. "Now, now that that's all in the open; about your, circumstance." His blue eyes met Alex's swiftly, then looked away. "I think it best to _officially _start your session after lunch today. I hope you don't mind if Holly sits in. She's especially interested as to why you can see her right now."

Alex seemed surprised. Holly was in plain sight to him. "You really can't see her?"

Artemis shook his head and Holly laughed. "No. As much as it may surprise you, Alex, Artemis is human. His abilities are the same as _almost_ every other human's. He can't see me when I'm shielded."

Artemis scowled in his friends general direction. Holly and Alex both laughed; he was off by about five feet. "I'll see you after lunch, Alex. I'll have Butler come and fetch you." Alex nodded once again and wandered back to his room.

Alex closed his eyes. He always knew that he was different- how many people had told him that since he joined ranks with MI6? But this, this was different. Although they hadn't said it, Artemis and Holly had no clue why he could see shielded fairies, or how to go about finding out why and solving the issue.

He stifled a yawn and glanced at the clock again. 7:45 A.M. Butler would be getting him and 12:00 P.M sharp. He plopped back down onto his pillows and shut his eyes.

_He was wandering down a long, familiar road. He recognized it instantly; it was the road that he and his godfather, Ash, had walked down when they had walked out of the airport. Alex paused. Something was different, the colors were all off and the buildings were lopsided. And there, in the center of the road, fifteen feet away, stood Ash. Much like Yassan, his godfather looked perfectly normal, younger than Alex remembered, but he was blown to bits, or decomposing. _

"_Alex." He said softly. "Oh, Alex. What a mess you've gotten yourself into."_

_Alex blinked in confusion. "But . . . I've stayed out of the mess. I've stayed out of the field, just like Yassan said to. What mess am I in?"_

_Ash smiled sadly. "The kind of mess you wouldn't believe. Ask Artemis, he'll tell you." He glanced behind him. "Look Alex, your dreams are not safe. They can attack you and they will. You need to be careful. Don't fall asleep alone. And tell MI6 that you've found nothing. Hint that you've found nothing. If they think that you have, they'll take Artemis away, along with is whole family. Although their interrogation techniques won't work- at least not concerning the fairies- he will be gone and right now, he is the only one who can figure this out and solve it." He looked to the left, toward a blue, distorted building. "I have to go. Remember what I told you; don't let MI6 think you've found anything. Say you've looked, but there was nothing to find. And be careful" With that, he was gone._


	6. Chapter 6

"So." Holly said, looking over at Artemis. "What do you think? Can we trust him?"

Artemis leaned back in his leather chair and shrugged. "I don't think we have a choice. I don't think he lied to us. But I don't think he told us the full truth either." He frowned slightly and glanced at the clock. Alex's appointment started in less than five minuets.

Holly scowled. "What do you think he kept from us?"

"I think that he didn't exactly tell us the full truth about MI6. He may have said that he wouldn't spy on me, but that doesn't mean that they didn't manipulate him into doing it anyway."

There was a tentative knock o the door. Artemis called out and Alex entered slowly.

He looked horrible. There was bags under his eyes and his face was pale and drawn. He seemed smaller, as if he was walking with a stoop.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Are you all right?"

Alex shrugged. "Dream." Was all he said.

Artemis frowned and gestured toward the seat across from him. "Please. Sit down. Now, tell me what happened."

Alex swallowed. "I had-"

Artemis shook his head, cutting Alex off. "Start from the beginning."

The English boy nodded and took a deep breath. "A few weeks ago I had a . . . nightmare. I was walking down this corridor. I heard a noise and when I turned around . . There was this man. Someone I knew. He told me that I'd see him soon and that he wouldn't be alone. I didn't think anything of it until I kept having the dream for two weeks. It was always the same. Then, one night I woke up early and went down to the kitchen. I don't remember falling asleep, but I guess I must have since I saw someone else in my kitchen." He swallowed thickly. "Someone dead. He told me, well, warned me, not to go back into the field for . . . " He trailed off, his eyes wandering toward Holly.

Artemis shook his head. "She knows all about you Alex. I told you yesterday, if you remember."

"Alex swallowed again and continued, "Alright. He warned me not to go back into the field for MI6. It was the first reason that I turned down their offer when they asked me to spy on you. I never told them the whole thing. Just that I'd been having nightmares and that they were threatening.

"Last night I dreamed of my god-father. He warned me about my dreams. He said that they can and will attack me and that you were the only one who could figure this out. Solve this. He told me that I should tell MI6 that I haven't found anything on you or your family. "

Artemis was silent for a long moment. He jotted something down on his pad and muttered under his breath in several languages. Some of them Alex recognized. Finally, he glanced up. "Tell me something, Alex." He said, leaning forward slightly in his chair. "These people that your dreaming of. How do you know them. From your spy work?"

Alex nodded. "Yes. The first, Damian Cray, tried to "make the world a better place." I stopped him. He killed the second man, Yasan Gregorovich, who had tried to save my life. Who was also, incidentally, also working for him as an assassin."

Artemis nodded and jotted down some more notes. "So far, _have_ these dreams made any move to attack or touch you?"

Alex shook his head. "No. They've always stayed a good distance away." He looked away for a moment. "Am I being foolish? I mean, they're just dreams, right?"

Artemis glanced up sharply, his piercing blue eyes bore into Alex's and for the first time Alex noticed that the Irish teen wore one contact on his eye. "In my experience, Alex, nothing ever is _just_ something. You should never underestimate anything. And no, actually. I do not think you are being foolish. " He paused and tapped his pencil. "How long ago did these events occur? The events concerning Mr. Cray and Mr. Gregorovich?"

Alex shrugged. "More than a year ago. I'm not sure exactly how long." He paused frowning. "Although, what happened with my god-father was just a few months ago."

"What events?"

So, Alex proceeded to tell the tale of meeting his god-father and eventually finding out he was working for the other side. The whole while, Holly was tapping against the table she was at. She glanced up suddenly and looked Alex straight in the eyes. He realized that her eyes did not match. One was hazel and the other was a pure blue. The exact same shade he realized, as Artemis's eyes.

He glanced at the other boy. He was bent over his pad again and was now conversing with Holly in some language Alex had never heard. It clicked then; Artemis knew far more than he was telling. Alex felt anger boil deep in his stomach. Here he was, ignoring his job and possibly jeopardizing his safety so that Artemis would stay in his comfy mansion. And Alex wanted to be sure that he could trust these two odd characters. He had told them far to much already that they could easily use against him. Now, it was his turn to dig up the dirt.

"Alright, Mr. Fowl." He said, somewhat angrily. "I've told you everything. Now, it's your turn."

Artemis glanced at Holly, who nodded. "It's only fair, Artemis." She said.

Artemis took a deep breath. 'Alright. Where do you want me to begin?"

"The beginning. The _very_ beginning."

And so, Artemis Fowl II, who trusted only a handful of people, told the strange boy in front of him everything.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Sorry this chapter's so short. Next chapter will be longer, I promise!!**

**Keep the reviews comin'**


	7. Chapter 8

**First- I've decided to write a sequel to this fic ^^ I've had a lot of fun writing it (with the exception of this mishap . . . By the way, thanks for ya'll stickin by me. It's been much appreciated.) Just thought you'd want some good news after your extremely long wait. (And don't worry, I've got all the outline backed up in several places ^^)**

**Second- I wasn't intending to make this a slash. I'm not opposed to it, it's just not where I was going with this story. However, as I've had to re-do the entire outline and plot to this story, it wouldn't ruin, or even change a whole lot, if ya'll wanted me to push it that way. Just gimme feed back and you know I'll consider all your opinions.**

**Well, enough of my ramblings. Here's your chapter!!**

Alex glanced at the clock again. Almost an hour and gone by and his session would start in just a few minuets. He sighed, still not believe what he'd been told, and not believing what he'd been brought into. He quickly got dressed and wandered into the hall.

Butler was standing across the hall, leaning back against the wall. When he saw that Alex noticed him, he motioned him over. "Artemis," he said in deep, gravelly tones, "is relocating your session. It will be held upstairs, in the attic room. Mrs. Fowl will be joining you."

Alex nodded, trying to remain stoic. He was still trying to decide if he was going to follow Ash's advice. After all, his godfather had been a part of Scorpia. He was also dead and had given him this advice in a dream. But, he knew from experience that MI6 cared nothing of his condition or what danger he was in. He knew that they would make life difficult for him if he didn't comply with their wishes. Although Artemis may understand his predicament, Alex wasn't sure that the giant, scary Eurasian man in front of him would.

Better not to let him know.

Alex followed silently behind the bodyguard. He pondered over everything while he walked, glad of the silence and steady pace.

The past few days had been mass confusion. Artemis had canceled Alex's last three appointments, and ordered him to stay in the house. He gave no explanation, just told an annoyed Butler to watch him. Then, he and Holly disappeared. The really strange part was that no one, save Butler and himself, had thought this odd or were even worried. Alex had tried to get answers, but either no one knew anything or they just didn't want to say.

But now Artemis was calling for him. Alex hadn't even realized the boy had returned. But it didn't matter. Alex was getting his answers. Enough was enough. He was here to get better, and his "doctor" kept running around with fairies

The attic, which is apparently where the session was to be held, was stuffy and crowded. Dressers and nightstands were dotted randomly around the room. Almost as if it had been a room at one time, but the stuff was slowly being dragged out. A large bed sat in the middle of the room. On it, perched Artemis, Holly, and Angeline Fowl.

Alex wasn't surprised; Artemis had told him that his mother would sit in on a session or two. But, like usual, he kept the reason to himself.

The pale boy smiled at Alex and motioned him in. Butler gave a low boy and muttered, very sarcastically, an unusual feat for the guard, "Is there anything else you need, Milord?"

Artemis frowned. "Thank you, Butler." Was all he said.

Alex stayed in the doorway and crossed his arms. He met Artemis' hazel-and-blue gaze and held it. The boy sighed tiredly and Holly snickered beside him.

"Wow, mud boy. Finally someone who can win a staring contest against you."

Artemis ignored her. "I supposed you're mad at me as well. I guess I deserve that." Alex kept silent. "Very well. I'll explain." He paused and steepled his fingers. "You remember the story of Opal Kobi?" Nothing. "We-ell, she's been found. Well, actually, she found us. Again. She kidnapped Captain Trouble Kelp, threatening to kill him unless we paid her one million euros." He grimaced. "We had the money, but she obviously couldn't keep it. So, we had to get it back."

The explanation sounded pretty lame, even to Alex. "So why did I need to be locked up?"

"Safety." He said with a shrug. "Opal can't know you're here." Another silence. "So," Artemis started, clearly out of his element. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Why is your mother here?" Alex winced. He hadn't meant to sound so rude. "Not that I'm opposed to it, I was just wondering."

Angeline smiled and chuckled a little. "I'm mostly here to make sure Arty stays on task. Also, his father doesn't know what he's doing up here; it's less inconspicuous when I'm up here as well."

Artemis gritted his teeth. "I'm perfectly capable of staying on task. And it would be less inconspicuous if Butler were up here."

Holly outright laughed this time. "No, it wouldn't. He's mad at you, remember? This is the third time that you've run off on one of your mad schemes without him."

He rubbed his temples. "Look, none of this is helping Alex, and none if this is helping me stay on task." He glared at his mother and then at Holly.

"Alright Alex, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?" Artemis snapped right into his psychologist role, glancing over his notes quickly. "Have you had any more dreams?"

Alex hesitated.

He'd had many dreams, but this last one was different. Usually, his dreams were warnings told by people he'd known, in places he'd been. They usually warned about MI6 or dangers coming up. This one was neither and Alex wasn't sure if he wanted, or should, tell Artemis about this last one.

Artemis sensed his hesitation and leaned forward. "Alex," he said gently, " I know how uncomfortable this is with Holly and my mother in the room. But I want you to know that you can trust them. What is said in this room, stays in this room."

"Who's Root?" Alex blurted.

The room was engulfed in silence, the earlier teasing completely gone. Holly's face paled and Artemis went still. "Why do you ask?" He asked, his voice unusually cool.

"He was in my dream last night. He said he knew you."

Artemis paused, seeming to collect his thoughts. "He was an Lep commander. He was also very close to Holly, Butler, and myself. He was killed several years ago by Opal Kobi." He paused again. "Usually, Alex, your dreams are warnings. Did Root warn you of anything?"

Alex had been exceptionally calm throughout everything he'd been through. He'd been shot at, lied to, used, beaten, strangled, shot, manipulated, told he was crazy and chased by so many men that wanted to kill him it wasn't even funny. And not once had he _really_ lost control of himself. But this was too much. All he wanted was to go home, dreams be damned. He wanted to be normal and go to school and have friends. And, yet again, that right had been taken away from him. With no explanations.

"No!" Alex shouted, surprising himself and the other occupants in the room. "No. I don't want to talk about my dreams anymore. I want answers."

The group stilled, but only Artemis remained unsurprised. Holly and Angeline shared a worried glance and, with the growing silence, Alex felt his embarrassment growing It was unlike him to loose it like that, but these new dreams had rattled him. MI6 had sent him here to help him, as well and use him, but they'd expected him to be safe. But, according to this dead fairy he'd never met, no one was safe with him in the house.

"Answers to what?" Artemis asked calmly. "I've been honest with you, whether you believe me or not."

Alex hesitated, feeling guilty. Artemis and his family had been nothing but kind and honest and Alex really trusted them. He'd told them, Artemis in particular, things he'd never even told Jack. He hated acting like this. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "It's just . . . I want to know what's wrong with me. That's what answers I want."

Artemis went thoughtful. "Well," he said slowly. "It could be a number of things. It could just be stress. I know you said you haven't worked in a while, but these things build up. It could be your subconscious warning you of some danger your conscience self either cannot comprehend, or else doesn't want to. A spell isn't out of the range of possibilities. Neither, I'm afraid, is someone summoning something to posses you, like a ghost, or someone possessing you themselves."

He turned to Holly and the two began talking in the fairy language. They talked briefly, then Artemis grabbed the walkie-talkie that was ever at his side. He called Butler, politely. The giant Eurasian man arrived looking disgruntled, but his earlier anger seemed to have dissipated some. Artemis quickly filled him in.

"It's not a spell." Holly said. "I can't sense any magic on him. Not that that's good." She sighed. "A spell was the best option."

"I can bump up the security." Butler offered. "We should still have some fairy cameras. I can turn the old cameras back on as well and hook each one to a computer." He paused. "Juliet is coming for a visit, but I can ask her to help out. I think she'd actually find it fun."

Artemis nodded. "Good ideas, old friend." He paused, then sighed. "Well, I don't think there's anything we can do tonight." He looked at Alex. "Unless there's something you'd want to say." He gave Alex a meaningful look with Alex instantly got. Artemis wasn't going to push Alex about this newest dream, _yet,_ but he was making it clear they would come back to that subject soon.

Alex shook his head and Artemis nodded. "Alright. Everyone should take a break. Alex? Try and get some sleep." Alex nodded and the group slowly dispersed.

Alex hung back, causing Artemis to look surprised. "Yes?"

Alex took a deep breath. "I think I should leave. If someone is attacking me, they'll eventually go after the people around me. I don't want to put anyone in danger."

Artemis gave him a rare full smile. "You know," he said idly. "My day full incomplete when I'm not in any danger."

Alex smiled back slightly. "Well, that may be fine for you, but there are other people-"

"Don't worry about Holly and Butler," the other boy interrupted him. "Trust me when I say they can handle themselves." He gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Worry about yourself for right now. Get some sleep, Alex."

They both left and Alex fell asleep. With no dreams.

Days melted into weeks and slowly, the dreams stopped coming. Alex, Holly, and Butler, began to relax. Butler stopped checking the cameras every half-hour and focused more on his sister. Holly treated her visit like a vacation and Alex began to really enjoy himself.

Only Artemis seemed to keep his guard up. He never said, but Alex got the distinct impression that the genius disapproved of everyone being so relaxed.

Time sped up and it was time for Juliet to leave. Alex felt truly sad- he'd enjoyed Juliet's presence around the house, even if he hadn't gotten to spend much time with her.

For her last night, Butler cooked his sister a huge meal. The whole family gathered, but no one spoke. It was odd, Alex thought. Artemis and Juliet were so close. He wondered why they weren't talking. He looked over at the other boy's seat, surprised to find it empty. A tiny movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Thinking it was Artemis, he looked over.

It was Holly, hovering a few inches off the ground. They still hadn't found the reason he could see her. Artemis and Holly both said they would look more into it after they solved this dream problem.

He frowned and looked closer at Holly. Her eyes were covered in a strange film, like she had suddenly developed cataracts.

She looked straight at him and rasped in a strange voice, "Leave the house. Unless you want more blood on your hands, leave, Alex Rider." There was a loud _whoosh_ing sound and Holly's body collapsed soundlessly like a rag doll.

Alex mindlessly leaped to his feet and ran to her side, just as everyone left dinner. No one seemed to notice and Alex screamed for Artemis, praying he was close enough to hear. He expected to see him come running, or even to see someone turn toward him.

Butler rushed into the dinning room, holding a butcher knife. Alex felt relieved, until Butler issued a giddy laugh that caused all the hair on the back of Alex's neck to stand on end. Like Holly, the voice coming from him was not his own.

"Time's up," A familiar voice growled. Alex understood the words completely, but something in the back of his mind told him the language was not English, nor was it any other language Alex knew. Butler laughed giddily again and lunged toward his smaller opponent, the knife pointed straight for his heart.

A scream tore out of Alex's throat and he pushed back, dogging the giant mans weapon.

And fell straight off the bed.


	8. Chapter 9

A/N: First off, I would like to mention that this chapter ( and later chapters) were/will be edited by the lovely Eleni-pixie. Cudos!! ^.^

Second . . .for those crazy people who are Minerva Paradizo fans, I would just like to give you (and my beta) a warning: I AM NOT! So, she will probably die a horrible, painful, slooooow death . . .ok. maybe nothing THAT severe. But do expect a lot of bad things to happen to poor little Miverva . . . *grins evily*

*******

Alex pushed himself up shakily. He ran his fingers through his hair and headed for the door. His breath came in short pants and his heart raced. He started to walk calmly to Artemis' room, but the echo of Butler's estranged, yet familiar laugh came floating back to him. He began to run.

He barged into Artemis' room, dimly noting that the other boy was fast asleep. For a second, Alex considered screaming. But he didn't need to: Artemis sprung up, not at all surprised to see Alex in his bedroom at three a.m.

"The demon!" Alex panted. "He is in the house! He tried to kill me. I think it's still here – I heard it laughing."

"OK" Artemis said soothingly. "Just breathe." Alex took a few shaky deep breaths. "Good. Now, calmly tell me what happened."

"I –"

The door banged open, causing Alex to jump. It was Butler, holding a wicked looking gun, closely followed by Holly.

"What's wrong?" He demanded. His voice was completely normal. "We heard screaming."

"Calm, old friend." Artemis said. "Alex said that whatever's been attacking him in his dreams has made an attempt to really attack him." He looked over at Alex. "He was just telling me about it when you all barged in. Go ahead Alex. Please, continue."

Alex was aware of everyone's gaze on him. He could feel them burning into him like a thousand little lasers. He swallowed. "I stopped having the dreams for a while, but I then had another one tonight. But this one was different. Something, or someone, took over Holly and Butler and used them to try and kill me."

No-one said anything. Holly and Artemis exchanged glances. The look was simultaneously neutral and worried. Finally, Holly spoke up.

"I can call the captain in the morning," she said slowly. "This sounds like something N° 1 needs to figure out, and I need permission to have him come up here. Given the circumstances, I'm sure they'll let him."

Artemis nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Butler, check the cameras. I do not believe you will find anything, but it doesn't hurt to check. Check very carefully around Alex's room."

"Anything in particular I'm looking for?"

The question seemed to have a hidden meaning that Alex didn't understand although Artemis did. "Anything" he replied gravely. "I haven't the slightest idea anymore what we are dealing with. Check the regular cameras first. I'm sure you won't find anything, but it will give us conformation that we're going in the right direction, thinking it's supernatural."

"How?" Holly demanded. "It is possible to loop your cameras Artemis."

Artemis nodded slowly. "Yes." He said calmly. "It is. But we'd see a loop. No loop and no activity means it's supernatural, of some sort." He nodded toward his bodyguard and the giant man was gone in an instant.

"Artemis" Holly said cautiously. "I know she's been lying low for a while, but you know that Opal could be behind this."

"Yes. I'm afraid she's one of the top reasons this is happening."

"No" Alex interrupted. "That doesn't make sense. These dreams started before I met you. Why would she go after you then? How?"

"You can see fairies" Artemis said simply. "That alone would be enough for her. She also knew, or even made, MI6 send you to me. She wants Holly and me very, very dead. Sending you here would be the best way to get at me."

"But how? And you said fairies can't come into a home uninvited. And Butler's always with you . . ."

"Opal isn't like other fairies. She is, for all intents and purposes," he grimaced, "all powerful. She's gotten into my house before, she can get in again. And as for Butler" he chuckled darkly. "Well, he is human and he can be killed, contrary to belief."

"But he never stays that way" Holly said teasingly. She didn't appear to be talking to Alex or Artemis, instead at some spot over his shoulder. Butler must have come back.

"Nothing Artemis." He said, ignoring Holly's comment. "Neither camera showed anything."

Artemis nodded and sighed.. "I thought so. There's nothing more we can do tonight. Everyone should go back to bed and try to sleep." He turned to the other teenager. "If possible, you shouldn't. I do not believe for one second believe you are safe."

Alex nodded. He felt exhausted, but he was too afraid to sleep. Strange, he thought to himself. After everything I've been through, dreams scare me. He and Butler left.

Holly turned to her friend and lowered her voice. "Artemis" she whispered, "If this isn't Opal, what else could it be?"

"It could be any number of possibilities. If it's not Opal, it could be ghosts. After tonight, that seems most likely, to me anyway." He paused. "If it _is_ ghosts, no one is safe." He looked over at her, his mixed-matched eyes bright with determination and protectiveness. "I want my family out of here, Holly. And I want them out fast."

The elf smiled gently. "You've changed, do you realize that? The old Artemis never would have considered the safety of those around him when acting out his mad schemes."

"I don't even know that boy anymore," was his cool reply.

Her smile widened. "I'll mesmerize your father to think they have a prior engagement. I'll send them to Minerva's. What should I tell your mother?"

"The truth. Please call Minerva in the morning to fill her in, tell her the truth as well. And I'd like to talk to Alex one-on-one tomorrow."

"Sure thing. 'Night, Artemis."

He nodded goodnight, and turned back to bed. Outside thunder rolled. Hoping it wasn't an omen, Artemis rolled over and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 10

Alex woke groggily. He hadn't dreamt, but he'd slept fitfully all night. His stomach growled and he sleepily made his way down to the kitchen. Occasionally, the Fowl family would gather for a huge breakfast, but today a grumpy Holly was the only other occupant of the huge room. She was holding a hand held cell phone and appeared to be talking through gritted teeth.

She waved Alex into the room and hung up the phone. "The Fowls — Artemis excluded obviously — are going to France to visit the Paradizo's. Unfortunately, the Paradizo's young teenage daughter, who is a magnet for trouble, wanted to "come help solve this mystery!" When I told her no, she threw a fit, as usual, and then threatened to "talk to Arty about this!" and then hung up on me." Holly groaned, frustrated. "Teenage human girls."

Alex's jaw clenched. He didn't like this bratty girl calling Artemis "Arty."

"Anyway," Holly continued. "N°1 is on his way to the surface and, hopefully, he should have some answers. However I have no time frame until he shows, so I'm stuck in the kitchen, waiting since this is the most likely place he'll arrive. Oh, and Artemis wanted to talk to you this morning one-on-one." She looked over at him. "Since you're headed that way, would you mind telling him about the French girl, Minerva? Trust me when I say she could severely ruin our plans if she gets in the wrong mood."

Alex agreed. He grabbed a few pieces of soft, juicy fruit (he had no idea what it was) and walked off to meet Artemis. He passed Butler, who gave him a strained, "Good morning." Artemis walked out of his bedroom, almost running into his patient. He was dressed in jeans and sneakers, something Alex had never seen the other teen ware before, and looked madder than ever.

Artemis scowled at his grin. "Butler has apparently been too busy to do any laundry, so these are the only clothes I have clean." He groaned. "I don't even have any dress slacks!"

Alex choked back a laugh, causing the pale teens scowl to deepen. "So, why don't you clean some?"

Artemis stared at him blankly, then shook his head in wonder. "Come. I need to talk to you." He ushered him into his study and Alex instantly took a seat. Artemis sat down opposite him and stared at him levelly."MI6 called last night." Alex's eyes widened. "I think they did it to annoy me — they called at about one in the morning." He scowled again. "They said they want to check up on you. They'll be here tomorrow at about noon." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "You can tell them what you want. I can't stop you."

Alex looked at him suspiciously. "But?"

"But what?"

"But . . . What's the catch?"

Artemis shook his head. "There is no catch. I don't want to control or blackmail you, Alex. I believe you've had more than enough of that. I want you to feel safe. However, if you tell them I can guarantee they'll take you away."

Alex stared at the other teen for a long time. It seemed like Artemis wanted him gone. "Do you want me to go?"

Artemis hesitated. "No. I'm the only one who can help you. I'm not just being overly confident." He paused. "To be honest, Alex, I've also come to enjoy your company. It is enjoyable to have another male my age around whom I do not have to lie to constantly."

Alex knew how he felt. He smiled. "I haven't found anything to tell."

Artemis gave him a rare, true smile. "Now that that's settled, I may have a friend coming in a few days. I'd like to know what you want me to tell her about why you're here. I do not have to tell her about your spy work, and she won't find out about that. Not easily anyway." He frowned and went silent, lost in thought. "However she _will_ find out about the dreams."

"Your friend." Alex asked sharply. "Is it Minerva?"

Artemis looked surprised. "Yes. How do you know about Minerva?"

"I forgot — Holly wanted me to tell you that she called this morning and said she'll talk to you later."

"I figured she might." Artemis said dryly. "I haven't decided on whether I want her help, but she'll probably come anyway. I can't stop her."

"Who is she?"

"A genius, like myself. Minerva Paradizo. Her father is the famous environmentalist, Gaspard Paradizo. She also happens to be a friend of mine and because of that, my parents and her father became very close."

"Holly doesn't seem to like her."

Artemis smiled ruefully. "No. She doesn't."

Alex didn't say anything for a moment. He already didn't like the French girl and hearing that Holly disliked her as well just added to the frustration. "I don't care what you tell her. I'd prefer she didn't know about my work or my dreams, but the latter seems inevitable. Just don't tell her about MI6."

Artemis nodded and fell silent. Alex was used to this: Artemis always went quiet when thinking deeply. "I have another idea as to what's wrong with you. About what's causing these dreams of yours. I think maybe it's ghosts."

Alex shrugged. "I suppose so. I've never really killed anyone, but people have died. I guess their spirits or whatever could blame me for that. They blamed me for most of their problems when they were alive. " He paused, curious. "Why would they warn me?"

"It may not be _ghosts_ warning you. It could still be your subconscious warning you. If it is ghosts, it could have been people who liked you."

The door banged open and Alex jumped. Artemis' eyes snapped up, right into the fiery glare of Holly.

"Your _girlfriend,_" she spat, "has called fifteen times, trying to get a hold of you. This last time she "informed me" that she was "getting on a plane and heading here, whether you want her here or not."

Artemis sighed.

"Minerva's your girlfriend?" Alex asked, surprised. Artemis didn't seem like the type of guy who dated.

"No. Holly meant it in a derogatory way." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I figured she'd do this." He looked up at Holly. "What did you tell her?"

"I said that a friend of yours was in danger and that danger may spill over to your family. Since she's just as smart as you, and far away, we thought they'd be safe there."

"Don't tell her anything more about Alex. The story — for now, since she will inevitably find out about the dreams — is that Alex is a friend I made at school. He was attacked by Opal, which is why he's staying here. I feared for my parents safety and since they don't know about the fairies, I sent them away. I'll come up with a more in depth story later, but that's all you'll all need to know. She most likely won't talk to either of you, or Butler."

Holly nodded and stormed back to the kitchen. Alex went for a walk, trying to decipher his thoughts and feelings. He'd shown so much emotion while he was here — he'd even lost his temper! It was strange: it was the most emotion he'd shown since becoming involved with MI6 and he was already thinking of Artemis as his friend, not his doctor.

The ground shook suddenly and Alex lost his footing. The earth collapsed inward, creating a hole. There was a grumbling sound, a sucking sound, and something small and dark shot straight upward and landed a few feet away. It scuttled into the shadows of the trees, leaving behind a noxious smell and studied Alex with small, red eyes.

The thing was humanoid shaped, albeit a very tiny one. Its face — almost all of its head, really — was covered in course, dark hair so think Alex could only make out those strange colored eyes. The eyes squinted, and the creature stepped out into the light. Slightly.

"You must be Alex." The creature said in perfect English. Alex at first thought it was a fairy, but, besides it's shape, it looked nothing like Holly. Maybe it was the demon everyone was so anxious about? "I'm Mulch. Mulch Diggums. I'm a friend of Artemis and Holly." Alex took the small, dirty hand that was extended towards him. He caught another whiff of the smell and involuntarily gagged.

"Sorry about the smell." Mulch said apologetically. "It's sunscreen. Trust me when I say I'd smell a lot worse without it."

Alex nodded, like it all made perfect sense. "Well, Artemis and Holly are inside." Mulch smiled, revealing a huge mouth filled with large, square teeth. Alex swallowed and led the strange little man inside.

Artemis looked up from his notes when the pair walked in. He smiled affectionately.

"I should have guessed. What Opal dilemma would be complete without a kleptomaniac dwarf on the loose?"

"Should have guessed?" Holly said teasingly to her friend. "Geez, Artemis. You should have _smelled _him!"

"Ha ha!" Mulch said, rolling his eyes. "And don't laugh mud-boy: I've saved your scrawny hide more times than I can count. You know you're glad to see me."

"Of course." Holly said, still grinning. "You're here, that means our cavalry can't be far behind."

"Again, ha ha. I was up here anyway, when Foaly called and told me they were having trouble with the flares. He said he was aiming for tomorrow night at the latest. He gave me strict order to watch out for you guys. To put my life on the line, if need be. I, of course, dutifully and bravely . . ."

Holly and Artemis rolled their eyes. "Yes," Artemis said in amusement. "What about the fact that I have an exceedingly large fridge that it always plentifully stocked . . .?"

"That's just a bonus."

Butler entered the room. He didn't appear to notice Mulch. "Artemis, that was your mother. She said they've safely arrived in France and are headed to the Paradizo's now. She also said that Minerva has safely boarded _her_ plane as well."

Mulch laughed loudly and Butler looked over. He grinned. "I thought I smelled something."

Mulch winked at Artemis. "You should have anticipated me."

"I should have." He grinned wider, this time at his charge. His voice grew innocent. Well, as innocent as the voice of a 7-foot-tall, body guard could be. "Oh and, Artemis. Your mother also said to expect a long talk when she gets back. She said the word "grounded" would come up. A lot."

Everyone, even Alex, laughed. Artemis had never been grounded a day in his shot everyone his patent glare.

"Well, if everyone can hear me over the laughter, you all need to hide tomorrow. MI6 will be here to check up on Alex." No one laughed.

"Figures." Mulch muttered. "I would show up just before we anger some intelligence agency."

Butler went back to the monitors (Artemis had ordered him to check them every half an hour). Alex, despite his exhaustion, stayed in the kitchen and watched Artemis interact with his friends. He enjoyed the company, even if he couldn't keep up with the conversation as the trio mostly talked about past adventures and people Alex had never even heard of.

He felt a pang in his chest. Before the nightmares, Alex had begun mending all his old friendships. Things weren't the way they used to be — Alex could only tell lies and his friends had easily picked up on that — but after all this, he knew they wouldn't want him back. For a split second, he thought about calling one of them, or even Jack. But he knew better. He couldn't tell his friends the truth, and they probably were at the point where they didn't even care anymore. Jack would only make him feel home sick and guilty.

"N°1 has basically become unbearable." Mulch was saying. "Trust me Holly, be glad you've been up here this long."

"Why?" Artemis asked with a frown.

Mulch sighed. "He's surpassed Quinn and he _loves_ to show it off. The real reason I was up here was because the little warlock wanted to use me as a guinea pig for a spell he found that was supposed to turn me inside out and turn my blood to lava." The dwarf shoved his head back into the fridge and, for a full minute, all anyone could hear were munching sounds.

Alex sighed sadly and left. He missed his friends dearly. Although it wasn't official, he knew he could no longer really call them his friends. There were only so many lies and absences a friendship could hold. He stopped outside his bedroom, his thoughts turning to Holly and Artemis. Could he really call them his friends, either? Sure, they were kind and friendly now, but how much of that was just to help Alex? What would happen when Alex was cured and went home to Britain?

A few hours passed. Alex skipped dinner, his dark mood pushing him away from social interaction. Butler and Holly both tried a few times to get him to come down and eat, but each time, Alex declined.

He had just gotten out of a long, hot shower when someone knocked on the door again.

"Artemis wants to see you in his study." Butler's deep, gravelly tones floated to him through the door. Alex didn't reply, just got dressed and left.

Artemis was poring over his notes again when Alex walked in. Alex didn't know what was so interesting about them that he needed to analyze them several times a day. He looked up briefly, then shut the folder.

"There's nothing really to tell." Alex stated, voice cold. He wasn't in the mood to be nice. "The dreams, except for one, only come when I'm asleep. I haven't slept all day."

"I want to concentrate more on past dreams right now." Artemis said slowly. "The voices from the other night, did you recognize them?"

Alex shook his head. "The one Butler used was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't tell you where I heard it. The one Holly used wasn't familiar at all."

Artemis nodded and wrote something on a new piece of paper. "The people who warned you, the ones you knew, were they people who you'd been particularly close to?"

"No. I mean, Ash was my godfather, but he'd been working for the other side the whole time we worked together. I hadn't known him very long or gotten close to him. I'd known Yassen, but I hadn't _really_ known him. We spoke maybe a few words a few times. I tried to kill him once. He stopped me, then left me in a bullring in France. When his boss ordered him to kill me, he refused and then his boss shot and killed him."

Artemis appeared extremely interested in this. He wrote for about five minutes before looking up again. "Can you think of any reason these men would want to protect you?"

Alex shrugged. "Not really. I mean Ash was my godfather, but like I said, we weren't close. I only saw him a few times. Yassen was close to my father, but I hadn't known him very well either."

"What about the ones who threatened you. Did you know them?"

"Besides the ones from the other night, yes. They were men MI6 set me up against. They died, obviously."

Artemis smiled his best vampire smile. "I do believe, Alex, that I know what this is. What's more I know how to fix it."


	10. Chapter 11

Artemis had called a meeting in the kitchen, of all places. Although the pale-faced teen seemed uncomfortable in his surroundings, Alex had a feeling the boy was in his element. He stood straight and tall at the end of the table. His suit (now clean after berating Butler for four days) was perfectly pressed and his note cards were placed oh-so-carefully in front of him.

"Now," He said, speaking as though he had a huge, exciting business proposition. "You are all, no doubt, wondering why I called you here."

"To the kitchen." Holly muttered, just loud enough for Artemis to hear. He ignored her and Alex felt his stomach twist anxiously. Every second they wasted here was a second MI6 gained. Although there were still several hours until they arrived, Alex wanted his fairy friends as far away from them as they could get.

"I have found out what Alex's problem is." Alex tuned back into the confident voice. "We _are _in fact dealing with a haunting. They are spirits who blame Alex for their deaths and, for some reason, they cannot take any sort of physical form, so they've been attacking him in his sleep. So far, they haven't been able to do anything besides scare him, but I, for one, do not want to take the chance of them finding a way to become corporeal."

"So? How do we get rid of them?" Mulch asked.

"An exorcism." Artemis said promptly. "That's the only way I see to really, truly get rid of them."

"That's not a problem. Nº1 can do that easily enough."

Artemis smiled. "There's no doubt in my mind. However, it's a bit more complicated than that. We also need to find a way to stop any more ghosts from getting the same idea. It should be possible, just slightly more complicated."

Alex looked away. He wanted these dreams to stop, for things to go back to normal, badly. But once they were gone, Alex would lose some of the very few friends he had left. He looked back up at Artemis and caught his eye.

"What should I tell MI6?"

Artemis frowned, and thought quickly. "Tell them as much of the truth as you can. It will draw less attention to the lies." He glanced over at Holly and Mulch. "They aren't supposed to be here for another two hours, but I wouldn't put it past them to arrive early. You should get out of here now." He looked over at Butler, standing guard in the doorway. The manservant glowered back.

"I already know you're not going to leave." Artemis' lips twitched.

Butler's glare intensified. "Every time you've gone up against the government, your life has been put in danger. I am not leaving this house."

"I know." Artemis said calmly. "I wasn't going to tell you to leave. However, I am going to have to ask you to stay out of sight."

Butler nodded. "I'll keep an eye on the cameras." His look intensified even more, but now it wasn't just directed at his master. "Be careful." He warned everyone. Then he was gone, followed closely by Holly and Mulch.

Alex felt too jittery to stay still. He paced the kitchen, anxiously running and re-running his script in his head. He didn't know how much time had passed, but suddenly he felt a presence behind him. He turned to see Butler standing in the doorway.

"I was just getting some water." He explained, stepping past him. Alex almost laughed. Butler seemed almost inhuman to him, and it was strange to hear such a common need be voiced by the giant man. Butler looked at him curiously. "I don't think I've seen you nervous. Is all this just about MI6?"

Alex sighed, still pacing. "They could find out I'm lying. I don't even want to think about what they'd do if they did."

The giant shook his head. "You really don't need to worry. You're more than protected here. Firstly, because Artemis is fond of you you're under my protection. Secondly, Artemis has been outsmarting government intelligence agencies since he was seven." He smiled gently, got his water, and disappeared.

Alex glanced at the clock, and redoubled his pacing. It seemed like only five minutes had passed before Artemis pulled him out of the kitchen and into the living room. Alex vaguely noticed that he had changed _again._ He'd kept his dress slacks, but he'd donned a less dressy shirt. He also noticed that Artemis' face was paler than usual, his jaw more prominent. If Alex didn't know better, he'd think they boy genius was scared.

Two people were standing in the spacious living room, looking around suspiciously. Mrs. Jones and --shockingly-- Alan Blunt casually made their way over.

"Well." Blunt said. "If you don't mind, _Mister_ Fowl," he sneered, "we'd like to speak to Alex alone. You understand." That explained the look on Artemis' face. The young genius was not used to be treated so rudely.

Artemis tried to smile politely, but it came out looking like he was having stomach issues. "Of course, _Mister_ Blunt." His tone was polite, but there was a harsh undertone. "I'll be right upstairs if you need me."

Alan and Mrs. Jones exchanged looks. "Well," Mrs. Jones said uncomfortably. "Shall we sit down?" Alex shrugged and sat, his body instantly becoming engulfed in the over-stuffed chair. She smiled a sickly sweet smile and popped a peppermint into her mouth. "So, Alex, how is therapy coming along?"

Alex smiled weakly. "Good. We found that the dreams were caused by people who died." Alex had decided to leave out the spirit part. "Artemis believes that he knows how to fix it."

Mrs. Jones smiled again. Blunt kept his face blank, but his gaze became meaningful. "That's good." He said, not sounding like it was good at all. "Is that all you found while you were here?" The look intensified.

Alex's heart skipped a beat and for one wild second he thought Blunt knew everything already. He paused to gather his thoughts. "Artemis has put all his efforts into my therapy" he said slowly. "If there is anything else to find, I don't know what, or where it would be." Let them make what they would of that.

They seemed disappointed, but they didn't seem suspicious of what he'd said. They didn't question it at any rate.

"Well," Blunt said. "I suppose we should talk to the man himself." He started to rise, and Alex leapt to his feet." I'll get him."

Blunt looked up suspiciously. He slowly sat down, dark eyes focused on Alex."I assumed that if we called out, he'd hear us."

Alex nodded weakly. "Oh yes." He answered nervously, then called out to the other boy, butterflies shooting from his stomach and into his throat, choking him. _I screwed up! _He thought desperately. _They know I'm hiding something and they'll find some way to arrest him._

Artemis descended the stairs regally, looking innocently surprised. "Yes?"

"We just want to hear from a psychologist's point of view what's wrong with Alex." He paused, her gaze traveling to the aforementioned boy. "We also understand that you found the cure to his . . ." She trailed off. "Problem."

Artemis nodded curtly. "Yes, ma'am, I believe I have." He sat down next to Alex, his icy gaze locked on the two adults in front of him.

"What I am convinced has happened is that Alex, who is considerably younger than his behavior would allow you to believe, is suffering from post-traumatic stress. When he is in the field, his mind is distracted, in no way focused on the past, or the people he's known. Since he was put into the field so regularly and quickly, his mind has not had a chance to absorb what has happened. But, as he's been out of the field for some time now, his mind has lost what to do with itself as it is no longer under constant pressure, but it has also had time to catch-up with itself. The nightmares are the mind's way of coping with everything he's been through."

Mrs. Jones seemed surprised, but pleased. Blunt looked up, blank faced. "How much longer does he need to stay here?"

Artemis thought. "Three weeks, at the most. After that, I'd suggest re-arranging his schedule. He needs to either be taken out of the field completely, or have longer breaks in between missions."

The man nodded. "Very well." He glanced at his watch. "We need to be going." He stood up and strode for the door. Mrs. Jones said nothing, just smiled and followed.

Artemis sighed. "That went well." Alex looked at him. "It's true. You did well, Alex. They bought your story, both of them, actually, and now they are gone. I was anticipating something much worse."

"They'll send someone else." Alex warned.

Artemis nodded, a strange and scary gleam twinkling in his eyes. "I know, and next time I won't be so lucky. I'll have to be more careful with what I do. Not only with my illegal adventures, but my contact with the fairies will have to be severely limited." He frowned at the thought.

"Speaking of which," Alex muttered as Holly strode in from some unknown location.

She smiled at the two boys. "The LEP are here." Artemis smiled back and motioned for Alex to follow him. They walked into the kitchen and every eye instantly snapped up to Artemis. He seemed to know what they were asking without them actually asking anything at all.

"They're gone and, yes, my plan worked brilliantly. Like always." A small boy waddled up to Alex, and wrapped his arms around him. With the exception of his height, Alex thought he looked remarkably like the actor who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter movies.

Alex shifted uncomfortably under the touch, not used to being hugged, much less by someone he didn't know.

Holly chuckled in amusement. "Alex, this in N°1. He's one of our resident warlocks."

"The strongest one." The boy retorted proudly. He turned back to Alex. "I don't normally look like this, but I can't walk around looking like a demon so I have to glamour myself." He beamed. "Don't worry Alex. I'll get you fixed right up." Alex smiled feably.

"How soon can you do this?" Artemis asked. "I'm expecting Minerva in a few days. I don't want her to be here with everyone around, and I especially don't want her here if Alex were to have another nightmare. "

N°1 grimaced in distaste. "Oh, in that case, I'll need two hours to go over the spells. And I'll need a sacred place."

Artemis nodded. "There's an old willow tree about twenty minutes from here, down by the river."

"That'll do."

Alex couldn't remember what he did for two hours. He knew he didn't sleep: there was no way his mind or heart would have relaxed enough to let him sleep. All he remembered was that one minute, he was watching everyone else scurry off and the next, he was standing under a wide, old oak, encircled by Holly, Mulch, Artemis, Butler, and No1. The little warlock cleared his throat and leaned back on his tail, having dropped his glamour on the hike.

"Quello," he muttered. "Quello vecchio, preghiamo di voi, inviateci il vostro benedizioni. Curare il figlio del vostro…"

The tongue was strange to Alex and, after a while, he stopped listening. He could feel the little demon's strong magic pushing and pulling on him. His feet went cold suddenly and he looked down. A very fine, white mist was creeping up his legs, his hips, his stomach. It reached his chest, then curled away, twirling into the night sky, then disappearing like smoke. He looked up, slightly panicked, and everything was blue, like he was looking through tinted glasses. Then, it was over. Alex looked up at N°1, fearing something had gone wrong. The demon grinned back.

"Alex Rider," he flourished in a deep voice, "thanks to the strong magics bestowed upon me . . ."

Holly smacked him. "Just tell him if it worked or not!"

N°1 grinned again. "It worked. Alex Rider, you are now ghost free."

_______________________

A/N: So, the second-to-last chapter of this fic! Once, again, it was edited by the wonderful Eleni-pixie. Also, there will be a sequel to this, but don't expect it for a few weeks: I have some other projects I'm working on (along with school and job hunting), but I have the whole outline. ^.^

Oh, and as Eleni-pixie pointed out: Alex has already met Minerva. But I specifically stated that he didn't. There's a reason, but you'll have to wait for it. *laughs evilly*

And, I did not forget about Minerva's character- I left her out of this on purpose. Hehe, again, you'll have to wait and see.


	11. Chapter 12

Three weeks passed swiftly. Alex had stopped having nightmares and spent most of the time catching up on long-lost sleep. When Alex wasn't sleeping, he was with Holly, Mulch and Artemis. He grew closer to them, and they all made promises to keep in touch, which everyone knew, deep down, were empty. Holly made several, solid promises to not mind-wipe him, given his deference to fairy magic. No one had been able to find a solution to that particular problem and it was forgotten.

The Fowls came back the day before Alex left. Everyone was excited to see Artemis literally get grounded, but all were disappointed when Angeline let the incident go.

"I'm just happy to come home to a standing house, full of the same people who were here when I left," was her only excuse.

Holly, with Mulch in tow, left that night. She'd been out of work for months and desperately needed to get back. She hugged Alex tightly before she left, telling him to be careful. Alex's heart about broke soon after. For all their promises, he knew that it would be the last time he'd ever see Artemis and the rest of the Fowls again.

Instead of sleeping that night the young spy snuck down to the kitchen, longing for the friendly familiarity of the wide, open space. Unfortunately, there was little light to see by and Alex ended up more stumbling than walking. He turned the corner and bumped into something warm and soft. He jumped back in surprise.

"Oh!" Mrs. Fowl exclaimed, pulling her bathrobe tighter around her. "Oh my, I'm so sorry Alex. I didn't see you."

Alex smiled at the women in the darkness. "It's all right Mrs. Fowl. No harm done."

He couldn't tell, but it sounded like she was smiling as well. "I suppose you couldn't sleep either."

"Not really." He admitted sheepishly.

"How about I make some hot chocolate?" Alex expected her to call Butler, but instead she flipped the light switch and began bustling around the kitchen, surprising him. In all the time he'd been here, Butler had taken care of everything. Alex severely doubted any of the Fowl family knew how to cook or clean.

A few minutes later Alex was sitting in a chair, nursing a warm cup of cocoa.

"Ever since Artemis came clean about all this fairy business I've found it harder to sleep at night." Angeline said quietly.

Alex nodded in understanding. "Yes, it was definitely a shocking story."

She smiled slightly. "Then he told me about you." Alex blushed, suddenly uncomfortable. "I was worried, at first, about him bringing a crazy boy into the house. But then I realized you weren't crazy." Her smile widened and Alex felt a chill skitter down his spine.

"I foolishly assumed that, after you killed me, the next 'villain' MI6 put you up against would kill you, but no, you survived that task. And the next one and the next and the list began to grow. My spirit waited for an uncountable amount of time, waiting for your demise."

Alex sat up, adrenaline spiking through him system. "This is a dream," he said shakily. "You're not real, whoever you are. This is a dream and you can't hurt me."

"You're wrong!" Angeline snarled, leaping to her feet. "That moron of a psychiatrist may think that he's solved your problem, but, my darling little spy, they've only just begun. I _can _hurt you! The others just wanted to scare you, at first, anyway. But I, being the smartest of them all, have no intent to _scare_ you. My spirit invaded this women's body to _kill _you!" She lunged suddenly, delicate hands reaching for his neck.

Alex dodged, running for the exit. Angeline was quicker, blocking the doorway and lashing out. A large knife plunged into his belly.

"I prayed," she growled menacingly, "that the bullet that tore through your chest would kill you. That the ambulance that sped you away would be too late. But you lived! You're luck just wasn't quite up yet. However it is now. You lived, Alex Rider, just so I could be the one to kill you."

Alex's body was going numb, his vision blackening. The last thing he saw was Angeline Fowl's eyes roll back in her head as she collapsed.

* * *

A/N: Ah, the last chapter! Finally, LOL! So, to all my devoted readers, I thank you! And, of course, a _huuuuuge_ thank you to my beta!

Anyway, yes, I _did_ have to leave this as a cliffy ^^ I'm just that evil. There will be a sequel, I have it all outlined and everything. So, expect the first chapter in about a week, two at the most.

Oh, and yes, for those of you who noticed, I did have Alex and Minerva meet before and I left her out of this part of the story for a reason.

Thank you!!


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